Two of Toronto’s most famous discount retail giants could be joining forces very soon.

Lastman’s Bad Boy furniture and appliances superstore, founded by former Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, “may be opening” in Honest Ed’s, says Lastman’s son and the chain’s CEO, Blayne Lastman.

An announcement is scheduled for Sunday morning at Honest Ed’s at Bathurst and Bloor Sts., which was recently purchased by a Vancouver-based luxury developer. The event will feature David Mirvish, son of the store’s founder, along with the Lastmans.

“It’s a major announcement. The two Number One discount retailers after 60 years have finally come together,” Blayne Lastman told the Star.

“We may be opening in there,” he added.

Honest Ed’s general manager Russell Lazar said only that Sunday will be a “fabulous day.”

If Bad Boy did open at the store, it’s unclear how much space it could take up inside the massive complex, or for how long it would last.

The site, which opened in 1941, was purchased last year by Westbank Properties, which is renting the property back to Mirvish until at least 2016 while it decides what to do with its new acquisition.

Mirvish had been quietly looking for a buyer for the prime 1.8-hectare parcel of land since last July. At the time, it was reported that the asking price was $100 million, but Mirvish declined to discuss the financial details of the sale in an interview with the Star last year.

Westbank is a leading luxury residential, office and hotel developer and the mastermind behind the Shangri-La Hotels in Toronto and Vancouver. The company did not return a request for comment on Friday.

Mel Lastman opened his first Bad Boy store on Weston Rd. in 1955, branding it as “the best place to shop” because of its deals. He later turned his attention to municipal politics.

His son Blayne resurrected the Bad Boy chain in the early 1990s, with locations in several Toronto suburbs and smaller cities, including London, Whitby and Kitchener.

With files from Star staff

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